The Chevy Colorado: An Urban and Active Pickup Lovers Dream

The mid-size truck market is surging in popularity. Their car-like handling, better miles per gallon, and truck bed utility all make them an ideal companion for urbanites who deal with tight parking and are more likely to carry a mountain bike or surfboard as opposed to hay bales and horse tack. The Chevy Colorado is taking aim at the reigning mid-size truck champ, the Toyota Tacoma, and producing trucks that are ready for adventure straight from the dealer.

According to Chevy, 1 in every 3.5 midsize trucks sold is in the Western region, so they've drilled deep into what motivates buyers in Southern California. They chose to demonstrate this by providing us with an opportunity to load up the trucks with surfboards and skis and go for a surf session in the morning and then drive to Big Bear for an afternoon of skiing. The truck performed admirably, and after a long day of activities and a total of 5 hours in the seat we still felt refreshed driving the Chevy Colorado back down the mountain.

Ready-to-Go Racks

Truck owners often lament the process of choosing and buying racks and cargo accessories for their new rigs. Third party components are expensive and although they may technically fit, they are often times not ideal for a particular truck. Sometimes they can be awkward to use and downright ugly.

Chevy has tackled this issue with their GearOn accessory system that is designed specifically for the Chevy Colorado. It's easy configuration and multitude of mounting accessories to choose from, makes it a great platform for any driver who enjoys outdoor pursuits. They've partnered with Thule to design these components that will safely secure your bikes, kayaks, skis, snowboards, standup paddle boards, and even a bed-mounted tent. This system is designed to keep your sports gear raised up and out of the bed of the truck so you've plenty of room for bags and other equipment down below.

The racks are powder coated in black and have a slim profile that doesn't detract from the design of the truck. They are best left on when not in use, but the various attachments can be added or removed within minutes. What's best about the GearOn system is that it can be factory installed and you can be ready to hit the water or the slopes as soon as you drive off the dealer lot.

The Chevy Colorado is also available with a bed divider that keeps gear from rolling around and can separate the dirty stuff from the clean. The Colorado truck bed is available in 5 feet 2 inch or 6 feet 2 inch lengths. With the longer bed and the tailgate down, the Colorado can transport full sheets of 4 x 8 feet of plywood which gives the truck added utility for DIYers.

Duramax Turbo-Diesel

The 2016 Chevy Colorado is offering a 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel option that gets a best-in-class 31 miles per gallon highway in the two-wheel drive models, and 29 miles per gallon highway in the four-wheel drive. The two-wheel drive is also trailer rated to tow up to 7,700 pounds which is more than enough to tow whatever toys you want to take with you including motorbikes, ATVs, and personal watercraft.

The Chevy Colorado handled well on the freeway and in the mountains, where it felt much more nimble around corners than a full-size truck. The exhaust brake kicked in nicely as we were descending which saved our brakes, and is an especially great control feature when you are towing.

You'll be hard pressed to find any vehicle on the road that combines such miserly fuel consumption with such capable utility.

Shoreline Edition

Chevrolet/Erik Isakson

Introduced this week, the 2017 Chevy Colorado Shoreline package will combine bright exterior colors with blacked-out trim, 18-inch wheels, and minimal chrome accents. Chevy's goal is to keep up with aftermarket trends and has designed a truck to reflect the tastes of their active drivers.

This is the third special edition truck for the Colorado which joins the Colorado Z71 Midnight, Colorado Trail Boss, and the Silverado Realtree and Special Ops editions.

Chevrolet hasn't launched the Colorado to check the box on a category, but they are choosing to innovate in a space that is dominated by some solid front-runners. By offering a truck that excels where most trucks fail—mileage—while maintaining the benefits that pickup trucks offer, the Chevy Colorado makes a compelling argument to be considered for active city dwellers who otherwise may have just considered an SUV or crossover.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Popular Mechanics participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.